The Doomed Wilcox Expedition

Episode 30: The Doomed Wilcox Expedition George Mallory once said, “I climb mountains because they are there.” Mallory died climbing Mt. Everest in 1924, and his body wasn’t found for 75 years. George Mallory represents both the passion and the danger for those who climb mountains. On July 18, 1967, a catastrophic snowstorm pummeled Alaska’s Mt. Denali, killing seven of the twelve young men in the Wilcox Expedition attempting to reach the summit. This is still the worst climbing disaster ever to occur in the United States.  We will never know what happened at the top of Mt. Denali. Experts can only guess the fate of those seven unlucky climbers. Sources My primary source for this newsletter was Denali’s Howl by Andy Hall. If you want to learn more about this tragic event, I highly recommend this book. Hall, Andy. 2014. Denali’s Howl. Plume, the Penguin Group. New York, NY. Manley, Kelley McMillan. 7-2017. Disaster on Denali. 5280.com/ Magazine https://www.5280.com/2017/06/disaster-on-denali/ Duke, Kevin. 3-28-2012. Finishing the climb: Babcock finally tells his story of Denali tragedy. Gvnews.com. https://www.gvnews.com/sports/finishing-the-climb-babcock-finally-tells-his-story-of-denali-tragedy/article_d158684c-78f7-11e1-871e-0019bb2963f4.html Worrall, Simon.  7-2014. The Denali climb that became one of the deadliest. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/140720-mountain-climbing-denali-mount-mckinley-alaska-national-parks ______________________________________________________________________ Read about Murder and Mystery in Alaska _________________________________________________________________ This podcast is sponsored by Author Masterminds and the Readers and Writers Book Club.  Check out the Author Masterminds Website ________________________________________________________________ Get to know the authors at The Readers and Writers Book Club ______________________________________________________________________________________ Meet Robin Barefield, your host for Episode 30 Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has written two nonfiction books, Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska and check out her podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier.  Read more about Robin's books at Author Masterminds.